Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr delivers opening remarks at the 2017 Canadian Council of Forest Ministers meeting in Ottawa.

The funding is through the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program, which was established in 2010 and renewed in June this year. IFIT provides non-repayable contributions of up to 50 per cent of a project’s costs.

Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr made the funding annoucement today during his keynote speech to the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.

“The Government of Canada recognizes the vital importance of Canada’s forest sector as an economic driver and major employer of Canadians, including Indigenous peoples. Investing in new technologies to support Canada’s emerging bioeconomy and forest sector to become more economically competitive and environmentally sustainable will help us to build a clean-growth economy, create well-paying jobs for middle-class Canadians and realize our climate change goals,” Carr said.

According to a news release, the IFIT program aims to support Canada’s forest sector in becoming more competitive and environmentally sustainable through:

new or increased production of bioenergy, biomaterials, biochemicals and next-generation building products by the forest sector;

increased deployment and encouraging broader adoption of first-in-kind innovative technologies, particularly Canadian, across the industry; and

the creation of innovative partnerships with non-traditional forest sector partners as a way to develop new business models for the sector.

Applicants must submit an expression of interest by Oct. 12, 2017, and a full proposal by Nov. 28, 2017.